Restaurant Review: Ming's Court

Place: Ming’s Court
Location: Ohri’s Basheerbhag
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with couple of friends)

Food: 8.5/10
Service: 5/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1288/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Blue Diamond

Place: Blue Diamond
Location: Next to L.B. Stadium, Basheerbhag
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with bro)

Food: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 2: Rs. 483/-

Verdict: 9/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Urban Asia

Place: Urban Asia
Location: Road No. 36, Jubilee Hills
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance:9/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 1277/-

Verdict: 9/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Chung Hua

Place: Chung Hua
Location: Behind Balaji Grand Bazaar, Basheerbhag (Road next to Mor Medical Hall)
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner (with amma and bro)

Food: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 654/-

Verdict: 8/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Shanghai Chef

Place: Shanghai Chef

Location: Madhapur Main Road, Next to Hyderabad House
Cuisine: Chinese, Thai
Meal: Dinner

Food: 8/10
Service: 4/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Meal for 5: Rs. 1540/-

Verdict: 6.5/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Liu's Chinese

Place: Liu’s Chinese Restaurant
Restaurant Location: S.D Road, in the lane behind Nanking, Secnderabad
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: Dinner

Food: 3/10 (Vegetarian only)
Ambiance: 7/10
Service: 4/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 786/- (Veg – Rs. 400/-)

Verdict: 3.5/10

For a detailed review, please visit sasikanth.me :)

Restaurant Review: Alex Kitchen

Place: Alex Kitchen

Location: Liberty Circle, Opp. TTD Kalyanamandapam

Cuisine: Chinese

Meal: Dinner

Alex Kitchen is one of the oldest and famous Chinese restaurants in town. It’s a small place right next to Universal Bakery, a little inside the building, is little cramped, but has a decent décor. I remember my brother bringing me here along with his friends while he was doing his Hotel Management. They knew the Chef back then, and used to get into the kitchen. Over years, Chefs have kept changing, and the standard kept falling. But still, hoping for some miracle, me along with a couple of friends dropped by on a Friday evening. And to my surprise, it was packed even after all these years.

It took about 10 minutes for us to be seated at our table. Once seated, it took forever for the waiter to serve us water and take our order. We almost had to struggle to get his attention. We ordered Noodle Soup, Spring Rolls, American Chopsuey, Soft Noodles and Manchuria (all Veg.).

The soup was served first. The quantity was pretty good, but it tasted bland and had no flavor to it. Even adding tons of chilly sauce, salt and pepper dint make any difference. Next came the Spring Rolls. I remember them being really good, and for once I wasn’t disappointed. They were infact excellent. Crispy, fried to perfection. Yummy!

After a long wait came the Chopsuey, Noodles and Manchuria. The Chopsuey was very very sweet, and I've never tasted an American Chopsuey so sweet. It had some crunchy noodles in between, but not a lot.

Thankfully, the Noodles and Manchuria weren’t sweet. The Noodles was alright, nothing great. Manchuria was good. The sauce was thick and tangy, and the balls were well cooked.

We somehow finished everything but just weren’t satisfied. We had definitely hoped for a better meal, but I atleast was disappointed. The quantity of food served was good, but what is the use if it doesn’t taste good? The service was pathetic. I had to ask 3 people to get some water. This place is the best example to show how bad a restaurant can get if the standards are not maintained. Except for the Spring Rolls, rest of the food was forgettable.

Food: 7/10

Ambiance: 7/10

Service: 4/10

Meal for 3: Rs. 500/- (Approx)

Dumbo’s Rating: 6/10

Restaurant Review: Southern Food Corner (SFC)

Place: Southern Food Corner

Location: Road No. 10, Banjara Hills, next to City Center

Cuisine: Indian and Chinese

Meal: Lunch (3 consecutive days)

I was at project management workshop on Rd. No. 10 for the last 4 days, and happened to lunch out everyday. The first day I chose McDonalds, for a McVeggie Combo. I dont think I need to write a review on that, so skipping it. The next 3 days, I happened to visit this small restaurant called SFC, which is right next to City Center.

It looked like a pretty decent place from outside, with both self service and seated service options. The self service section looked a little crowded with chairs and tables placed in a haphazard manner. It dint look so clean either. But having walked in, decided to give it a try.

On a Friday, the place was jam packed, full of office crowd. I opted for the self service section. They had quite a huge menu - South Indian, Chinese and North Indian. Their South Indian food was selling like hot cakes, but being me, I ordered a Chole Batura. It was out in about 5 minutes. It was a little oily to look at, and I thought he gave very little Chole for such huge Batura. The Chole tasted a little sour, but was good. The Batura too was light. I had to get some extra Chole to finish it off. On the whole, decent food.

On the second day, I was kinda forced to return to the place, as I was with a bunch of people. We happened to sit on the first floor, the service section. This looked much better than the self service on the ground floor. They had Air-Conditions, but they weren't turned on. People around me ordered Masala Dosa and Lemon Rice. The Dosa was huge, looked really crispy and tempting. My mouth was infact watering. I again ordered something different, Veg. Soft Noodles.

It took a while for it to be served, by which every one around me were done with their meal. But it was worth the wait. A huge bowl full of Noodles was placed in front of me, with Hot Garlic sauce. I normally dont tend to order only Noodles for the reason that I like to eat it with an accompaniment. But seeing the Hot Garlic sauce made me really happy. The noodles was yummy good. It was properly cooked, the vegetables in it were crunchy, and it wasnt too spicy either. The Hot Garlic sauce added extra taste, and was tangy. Impressed!!

I wanted to come back to this palce after my last meal, but no so early, the very next day. This time it was a much bigger gathering, and we again took to the first floor. Everyone today ordered MLA Pesarattu. I happened to have the same last night at Chutneys (review), so this time ordered American Chopsuey.

Again, it took a while. The MLA Pesarattu looked really good. Everyone around me were going gaga about it while I waited on my food. Again, large quantity of food was served. The Fried Noodles and the Sauce were served separately. Adding the noodles into the sauce, it tasted delicious. It was actually as good as the American Chopsuey I had at Nanking about a month ago (review). Serving the Fried noodles separately helped them remain crispy. The sauce was not so sweet, and the vegetables were very very crunchy. Excellent food this time around. I happened to empty the dish in about 10 minutes and everyone around me were actually surprised to see me eat so much.

Overall, a good find. Though I wasnt impressed initially, the Noodles served with the Hot Garlic sauce, in a slightly better ambiance on the first floor got me to write this review. The South Indian food looked really good, and people were saying good things, so am assuming that it was actually good. For a food place at Banjara Hills, the prices were very very reasonable as well. Also, the quantity of food served (on all 3 days) was excellent. I would definitely come back to this place. Its Certified!!

Food: 9/10

Ambiance: 7.5/10

Service: 8/10

Meal for 1: Rs. 60/-

Meal for 6: Rs. 300/-

Meal for 11: Rs. 600/-

Dumbo's Verdict: 8.5/10

Restaurant Review: Jivas

Place: Jivas

Location: Raj Bhavan Road

Cuisine: Multicuisine Buffet

Meal: Lunch

After my high profiled job interview yesterday morning, I felt like eating a heavy meal. Someone recently told me about this place called 'Nautanki Galli' at Hitech City, so decided to give it a try. The place was great, but the buffet priced at Rs. 388/-, was full of non vegetarian food. So I decided to give this one a skip, and instead go to their sister restaurant Jivas (both owned by Ohri's group). Picked up mom and dad on the way.

I love this place for their lavish buffet. The moment we were seated at our table, a plate of starters - veg Kababs and veg Manchuria, was served. A little later came in Noodle soup, followed by Papdi Chat. Both the Kababs and Manchuria were yummy delicious. The soup was nothing great, but again, the Chat was really good.

Once done, I started off with their Chinese food - Schezwan Noodles, Vegetables in Hot Garlic Sauce and American Sweet Corn Fried Rice. The Noodles was appetizing. The Rice and Hot Garlic Sauce were alright. The Rice though tasted much better with the Manchuria.

Next, the Indian food. On this day, they had Mutter Paneer, Aloo Tindoora, Baingan Masala, some Mixed Vegetable curry, and Biryani. There was a live Phulka counter, but I preferred their Butter Naan. The Naan was good, but the curry's weren't so great. The Paneer was not so fresh, Baingan Masala was too thin, and the other two were just alright. I dont like their Biryani much, so I preferred to skip it. Also, I was already bursting!

Tried a little of their Besi Bele Bath. It dint taste good initially, but was actually good. I gave a skip at their Dal Makhni, Tomato Dal and Curd Rice.

Finally, plunged into their deserts section - Mango Ice-cream, Chocolate Pastry, Rasgulla and Sooji Halwa. The Rasgulla and Sooji Halwa were out of the world. I wanted to have more of them, but there was no place left in my tummy. The Pastry too was excellent.

Overall, a lavish, sumptuous meal for a very decent price. Wanted to take pictures, but was too lazy after eating so much. The ambiance was great, but the place was a little too loud for they were two big parties sitting at the adjacent tables. You get similar vegetarian buffet at Bikanervala at Banjara Hills, at a slightly higher price.

Food: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Meal for 3: Rs. 699/- (Rs. 185 + Taxes per person)

Dumbo's Verdict: 8.5/10

Restaurant Review: Nanking

Place: Nanking

Location: Parklane, Secunderabad

Cuisine: Chinese

Meal: Dinner

The other day, a friend of mine dropped by, and took me to Nanking. Ive heard quite a lot about this place (my best friend used to go gaga over this place), but visited it only once before. They have the main restaurant and an extension right next to each other, strangely, with separate kitchens. Both were packed for a weekday and we had to wait about 10 minutes to get a table at the Extension.

The vegetarian menu was not so long. Spring rolls, Egg rolls and Manchuria were the only veg starters they had. The non-vegetarian menu was quite long though. The prices seemed very reasonable for a place of such magnitude.

We ordered a vegetable Hot and Sour soup, Spring Rolls for myself and Chicken drumsticks for my friend. The soup was tasty and tangy. Spring rolls were good, but I've had better ones. 16 pieces was quite a lot. The rolls were out right away, but it took forever for the drumsticks. I was almost done with the rolls when they arrived. My friend loved them though. This guy owns a restaurant himself, and was telling me that it was quite impossible to serve 10 drumsticks for the given price.

Both of us were almost full with the starters, so we decided to go light on the main course. We ordered a vegetable American Chopsuey. I was having one after really long and loved it. The fried noodles were crunchy and the vegetables very well cooked. The quantity again was sumptuous.

Looks like I have a new favorite Chinese restaurant other than Chopsticks. For their prices and quantity, this place is a winner!! I saw the guy at the next table struggling to finish the fried rice he ordered. A nice family restaurant, and a bargain for my non-vegetarian friends. On the downside, the place was a little to loud. Also, the cutlery they used was quite old. The main restaurant has better interiors than the extension, but is cramped for space.

I would definitely recommend this place for anyone wanting to eat good Chinese food!!

Food: 8.5/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Meal for 2: Rs. 440/-

Dumbo's Verdict: 8.5/10

PS: I like Chinese food, but its not my favorite. I somehow prefer the 50 bucks road side bandi food over a restaurant when it comes to Chinese. That is why an 8.5 even though I listed it as my favorite.